History of Glass Tempering

“Francois Barthelemy Alfred Royer de la Bastie (1830–1901) of Paris, France is credited with first developing a method of tempering glass[17] by quenching almost molten glass in a heated bath of oil or grease in 1874, the method patented in England on August 12, 1874, patent number 2783. Tempered glass is sometimes known as Bastie glass after de la Bastie. In 1877 the German Friedrich Siemens developed a different process, sometimes called compressed glass or Siemens glass, producing a tempered glass stronger than the Bastie process by pressing the glass in cool molds.[18] The first patent on a whole process to make tempered glass was held by chemist Rudolph A. Seiden who was born in 1900 in Austria and emigrated to the United States in 1935.[19] Though the underlying mechanism was not known at the time, the effects of “tempering” glass have been known for centuries. In about 1660, Prince Rupert of the Rhine brought the discovery of what are now known as “Prince Rupert’s Drops” to the attention of King Charles II. These are teardrop-shaped bits of glass which are produced by allowing a molten drop of glass to fall into a bucket of water, thereby rapidly cooling it. They can withstand a blow from a hammer on the bulbous end without breaking, but the drops will disintegrate explosively into powder if the tail end is even slightly damaged. ”

Benefits to strengthening glass are obvious and modern manufacturing works to further increase the strength and safety of glass by developing coatings and fabrication process to meet architectural and environmental demands.

Tempering Glass with Holes and Cutouts

Bent Tempered Glass

Email Sales@jcmoag.com to submit plans for pricing and lead times on custom, bent glass orders.

Cast Tempered Glass

Architectural art glass is an expanding market. Broaden your creative scope with cast tempered glass. Work with our art department to create your one- of-a-kind glass mold. With three industrial kilns on the floor, we have the capacity to handle large glass runs.

Plate Glass Tempering: Types and Thicknesses

We temper a variety of annealed plate glass. Stock glass thicknesses range from 3/16″ (5mm) to 3/4″(10mm). Contact us for updated inventory and fast quotes.

Commercial and Residential Tempering Applications

Glass is a limitless, recyclable material. While most of our daily interplay goes unnoticed, glass is a critical, component part of our environment.

Tempering Applications

Tables

Counter-tops

Back-splashes

Shelves

Office partitions

Storefronts

Railings

Porticoes

Walls

Windows

Doors

And more …

In addition to our glass tempering service, the Moag team is able to complete multi-task glass fabrications to meet your job’s specific needs. Our experienced design team is here to help ensure precision results from start to finish. This includes customized crating and delivery options. Need your commercial glass order installed? We can help with that too. Complete the form below to request a quote for your next project.